Igor Staritsky | Wageningen University and Research Centre (original) (raw)

Papers by Igor Staritsky

Tijdschrift Voor Gerontologie En Geriatrie, 2010

Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2011

Regional Environmental Change, 2014

ABSTRACT In this paper, we first provide a brief overview of other decision support tools for bio... more ABSTRACT In this paper, we first provide a brief overview of other decision support tools for bioenergy and assess to which extent the integrated tool central in this paper is different and novel. Next, a description is given of the tool, the different models used and the functionalities. The working of the tool is then illustrated with three case studies based in the northern part of The Netherlands. The computerised tool is meant to support the communication process between stakeholders to come to the implementation of regional biomass delivery chains. It helps to create a quick and common understanding of optimal biomass use in a region. Although the tool has been applied only to bioenergy chains, other biochemical and biomaterial chains are also suitable to be incorporated. The three case studies presented include a conventional sugar beet bioethanol production chain, an advanced Miscanthus bioethanol conversion chain and a straw-based electricity chain. The main conclusions are that optimal biomass use for non-food purposes from a sustainability and resource-efficient perspective depend on many different factors specific to the conversion chains. For example, the green house gas (GHG) emission and mitigation potential of a sugar beet-based bioethanol chain requires careful organisation particularly on the primary biomass production and transport, while in a straw-based electricity chain, the largest efficiency gains can be reached in the conversion part. Land use change (LUC) to sugar beet generally causes more negative environmental impacts than LUC to Miscanthus. This applies to both GHG efficiency, soil organic carbon content and emissions of nitrogen to surface waters. At the same time, it becomes clear that the different scenario assumptions can be very influential, particularly on the final economic performance of a chain. Overall, it is clear from the cases that the users understand much better under which circumstances and through which mechanisms the designed chains can become profitable and can become more environmentally sustainable.

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 1992

Former galvanic factory premises are often heavily contaminated with cyanide, requiring redevelop... more Former galvanic factory premises are often heavily contaminated with cyanide, requiring redevelopment of the soil. In this study attention is focused on one particular site in the Netherlands. In an area of 0.8 ha 344 observations were taken at different depths in the upper 3 m of soil. Three different procedures based on spatial variability studies are compared to calculate the extent of polluted soil as well as the uncertainties associated with it on the basis of this number of observations. As it turns out, a more evenly distributed data configuration results in a reduction of the extent of soil to be redeveloped when the decision procedure involved is based on the probability of exceeding a critical concentration level. Hence a small but structural reduction of the associated costs was achieved.

Water Resources Research, 1991

Simulation models for calculating moisture deficits for areas of land require interpolation proce... more Simulation models for calculating moisture deficits for areas of land require interpolation procedures to arrive from point observations to area-covering statements. We use both (1) calculate first, interpolate later (CI) procedures, which interpolate calculated model results for test locations, and (2) procedures which interpolate basic soil data toward test locations, followed by model calculations, interpolate first, calculate later (IC) procedures. In this study several CI and IC procedures which simulate moisture deficits are compared by means of a test set of 100 observations, yielding the mean standard error (MSE). CI procedures consistently produced lower MSE values than IC procedures. Parameters of the pseudocovariance function (PCF), which models the spatial structure of bivariate increments in universal cokriging, were estimated by means of the restricted maximum likelihood procedure. Compared to universal kriging, universal cokriging yielded comparable MSE values, but a lower mean variance of the prediction error. Best results in this study were obtained by pointwise simulation model calculations, followed by statistical interpolations.

International journal of geographical information systems, 1995

Abstract Geographical Information Systems can be used for processing spatial data to assess the r... more Abstract Geographical Information Systems can be used for processing spatial data to assess the risks of environmental contamination. Their use depends upon the amount and quality of available data, the models for interpolation and calculation of health risk, data ...

Land Degradation and Development, 1992

In this study we have tried to link a quantitative inventory of deforestation to possible factors... more In this study we have tried to link a quantitative inventory of deforestation to possible factors driving forest clearing, like accessibility and soil quality. The Study Area covered 395 km2 in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. Basic information came from aerial photographs taken in 1952, 1960, 1971 to 73, 1981 and 1984. Photo interpretations were digitized and processed with the help of a monoplotting programme. Three phases in deforestation were distinguished:

Soil Science Society of America Journal, 1993

Revue internationale de géomatique, 2008

The objective of this paper is to translate land use changes (EU 25) into landscape changes. In c... more The objective of this paper is to translate land use changes (EU 25) into landscape changes. In contrast to land use maps the proposed landscape maps take the neighbourhood of a location into account additionally to solely the land use in a particular cell. Land use categories are reclassified into three main land use types and the dominant land use

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2011

In this article an approach to spatially allocate farm information to a specific environmental co... more In this article an approach to spatially allocate farm information to a specific environmental context is presented. At this moment the European wide farm information is only available at a rather aggregated administrative level. The suggested allocation approach adds a spatial dimension to all sample farms making it possible to aggregate farm types both to natural and to lower scale administrative regions. This spatial flexibility allows providing input data to economic or bio-physical models at their desired resolution. The allocation approach is implemented as a constrained optimization model searching for an optimal match between farm attributes and spatial characteristics subject to consistency constraints. The objective functions are derived from a Bayesian highest posterior density framework. The allocation procedure recovers the spatial farm type distributions satisfactorilly thereby providing information of significant value for further analysis in a multidisciplinary context.

Landscape Ecology, 2009

Livestock remains the world's largest user of land and is strongly related to grassland and feed-... more Livestock remains the world's largest user of land and is strongly related to grassland and feed-crop production. Assessments of environmental impacts of livestock farming require detailed knowledge of the presence of livestock, farming practices, and environmental conditions. The present Europewide livestock distribution information is generally restricted to a spatial resolution of NUTS 2 (province level). This paper presents a modelling approach to determine the spatial distribution of livestock at the landscape level. Location factors for livestock occurrence were explored and applied to consistent and harmonized EU-wide regional statistics to produce a detailed spatial distribution of livestock numbers. Both an expert-based and an empirical approach were applied in order to disaggregate the data to grid level. The resulting livestock maps were validated. Results differ between the two downscaling approaches but also between livestock types and countries. While both the expert-based and empirical approach are equally suited to modelling herbivores, in general, the spatial distribution of monogastrics can be better modelled by applying the empirical approach.

Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Changes, 2008

ABSTRACT Land use changes are a result of decision making at the local level which is influenced ... more ABSTRACT Land use changes are a result of decision making at the local level which is influenced by changes in the regional and global economy, demography, policies and other factors operating over a wide range of organisational levels and spatial scales. This chapter describes a methodology to integrate the demands for changes in land use as determined by global and national scale processes with local level conditions influencing land use conversions across the European Union. The approach enables an assessment of landscape level changes in land use and the analysis of policies specifically aimed at land use and landscape functioning. A baseline scenario is presented to illustrate the approach and results.